First time's the charm
NHS team shares first place in Figawi Team Race
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
All sailing coach Nick Judson wanted was for his students to get a taste of big regatta racing. More than that, he wanted his crew to be safe on the water.

MICHAEL GALVIN/The Independent With Russell Bartlett at the helm (far left), Prima, Nantucket High School's entry in the 36th annual Figawi Race, shows her school spirit as she sails into the harbor Saturday afternoon.

What they showed him was more than any coach could hope for, as the Nantucket High School team overcame early race difficulties to take fourth place in their division and a share of first place in the team racing category in last weekend's 36th annual Figawi Race.

Sailing Prima, a 35-foot J-105 that was donated to the team by 'Sconset summer resident Norwood Davis, eight Nantucket students and a recent NHS graduate served as crew to Judson and captains Dan MacKeigen and Kin Loch Yellott, as they guided the first-ever Nantucket High School entry in the Figawi to a memorable finish.

"They did a fabulous job," Judson said. "I'm psyched."

His students were psyched, too, when it hit them that there were 15 other boats in their division, and that they were competing in an overall field of 210 sailboats.

MICHAEL GALVIN/The Independent After sailing to a fabulous Figawi finish, the captains and crew of the NHS sailing team stand on deck.

"It was amazing," Russell Bartlett, a junior and co-captain on the NHS sailing team said. "It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that, hopefully, won't just happen once. It was a much bigger boat than we're used to."

"It was really fun," co-captain Maggie Andrews added. "I'd never sailed on a boat that size before. We went into it with high expectations, and they were all met."

Crewing with Andrews and Bartlett were Josh Morash, Tiffany Lee, Trevor Lockley, Brian Chitester, Nellie Morley, Ben Rives and 2006 NHS grad Jimmy Sjolund, now a sophomore at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Besides handling lines, several students were given the opportunity to steer the boat on the course that took them from Hyannis to Nantucket.

Judson said the difference in size between the 16-foot-long 420s the students usually sail during high school regattas and the larger J-boat meant that students "have to be that much more aware about safety."

It didn't help when the spinnaker's halyard snapped early in the race.

"That was actually kind of scary," Bartlett said. "Anytime something actually snaps on a boat is really scary."

Everything was going better than expected leading up to the mishap. "The kids were all excited," Judson said. "We were almost perfect by the first mark and were ahead of all the other J-105s."

When the crew pulled out the bowsprit, however, "the halyard snapped and the spinnaker fell into the water," Judson recalled. The students kept their heads and showed their resourcefulness as they repacked the spinnaker, took down the jib and put the spinnaker on the jib halyard.

The extra work cost them precious time, however.

"At one point we were sailing without a jib for about seven minutes," Judson noted, "and the other boats caught up."

Guided by MacKeigen, Yellott and Judson, the NHS entry sailed well after that and came around the last mark in good shape. For the sailors on board, the finish proved they had learned their lessons well.

"It was really impressive that we came in fourth in our class, considering we were sailing without a jib and spinnaker for seven minutes," Andrews noted.

Judson later surprised all of them when he let them know they had landed first place honors in the annual Figawi Team Race, a category where three boats of different class types race as a team. The team that has the lowest combined score of all other teams earns the coveted trophy. Joining Prima on the team were Ruse from the B division and Allaura from the C division.

Judson, a world-class sailor in his own right, gave credit to his crew and to the experience of MacKeigen and Yellott for the team's accomplishments. "You never know what's going to happen," Judson said as he reflected on the weekend's events and his original goals. "Our big focus was to get across the starting line, be safe and get across the finish line."

That, his team did. They also displayed the perseverance and fortitude of true sailors.

"I think we were more competitive than some of the other boats," Morash said, adding that the team's enthusiasm made the race that much more enjoyable.

"It was an awesome experience," Andrews, a senior, noted. "I'm really glad I had this opportunity before I graduated. This is a phenomenal sailing

program." I